Of the Relative Intelligence of Having your Life
by adele4
Summary: ...Revolve Around a Card Game. Kaiba is sane and has social skills, and Jounouchi is just trying to teach him about the value of friendship. Really! JouKai


_This is set post-series; there aren't any spoilers, though. I'm not a native speaker, so if I make some weird mistakes, you know why; I'm sorry (any corrections are appreciated, of course)._

_Ridiculously long titles that start with "of" are awesome. Or maybe I'm just weird._

_I don't own Yu Go Oh! or any of its characters; I make no money with this. Surprisingly._

xxxxx

Of the relative intelligence of having your life revolve around a card game

Yugi had taught him many things.

He had taught him the value of friendship, and tricks for duel monsters, and to always believe in himself.

Before Yugi, he had thought that what counted the most was power, strength, and this meant, very simply, the strength to beat up someone. This was how the world worked: it was rotten, but if _you_ managed to be the stronger one, you could have a fairly nice life. And that was it.

Yugi had taught him that is wasn't just that; he was the strongest person he'd ever met, and also the most gentle and the most generous one. And after all the help he had gotten from Yugi, he wanted to be worth it.

And he'd learnt to become a better duellist, and a better friend. He had learnt that duels weren't just about having the strongest, most powerful monster cards to crush your opponent. It was more subtle than that.

There was the new trust that he could defeat opponents more experienced than him; there was the certitude that someone was waiting for him, cheering for his victory, and that it did make a difference; there was the discovery that there was magic in those cards, and that they would not let him down.

And then, there was Kaiba.

xxx

Picking fights with Jounouchi was very much like working a fairly complicated automatism.

Find the automaton in question. Push the right buttons to get the desired effect.

Walk away whenever you feel like it. Repeat whenever you feel like it.

That was what all human interaction would work like if he had designed it.

xxx

Kaiba had lost all his duels against Yugi – well, he had won one of them, but Kaiba himself didn't count this one as a true victory, or he wouldn't have been so impatient to duel him again in battle city. He owed Yugi's skills his very soul, and his brother's.

Therefore, he should know that Yugi was right; he should see that his way was the right one.

But of course, he didn't. He could lose yet another duel, or witness Yugi save the world – and that did include his sorry ass, whether he liked it or not, and besides, if wasn't like _all_ of them hadn't gone to some lengths to help him as well! – once again and then still walk away like he owned the world. Yugi - even the other Yugi - was just too nice to show the truth down his throat.

Well, _he_ wasn't. Of course, he'd let Yugi deal with it – it, being Kaiba – however he wanted to: that was his choice. But only once, he wanted Kaiba to acknowledge what they had done; to accept the same things he had learnt.

All right, he also really wanted to beat him in a duel at least once. _That'd_ show him!

xxx

It wasn't like he needed Jounouchi. It wasn't like he needed anyone, let alone someone whose only value lied in providing some rather repetitive entertainment.

Jounouchi had no knowledge and no skills and not even any goal that made it worth noticing him in any way. He was no rival, no treat, no potential ally.

But there was no danger in pushing Jounouchi as far as he could: he wouldn't seriously try to get back on him, and even if he did, he'd easily be stopped. There was no true harm in it : Jounouchi wouldn't just break down. And there was no danger of losing control, ever: Jounouchi would come back. Every single time.

Not that he _needed_ him to.

xxx

That Kaiba beats him again sucks, but that he can live with, or he'd be dead since a while.

However, that Kaiba doesn't seem deem him important enough to take their duel seriously is somewhat humiliating. Because he's pretty sure that he could have won before, and without calling a blue eyes on the field. If he didn't know that Kaiba is obsessed with that card and might very well be thinking that a victory without it doesn't quite count, he'd really feel insulted.

So, he tries not to be when Kaiba, who'd been smirking a minute before, when he destroyed his last defence monster, turns round, looking fabulously bored and not the slightest bit victorious. Typical "this victory was too easy to be satisfying"-look. He's grown immune to it by now.

Almost.

He refrains from running after Kaiba – he's making progress – and shouts after him:

"I want a rematch."

Kaiba stops. He doesn't turn round, but he stops. Hey, it's something.

"It'd be a waste of time."

He breathes in and out; this too, he should have grown immune too. He says the same thing again and again and if he was able not to think of the way Kaiba has of just smirking at him in a "I can see right through your pathetic strategy and defeat it in one turn"-way and then _doing_ so, he'd maybe come up with a rational thought, like "he didn't _refuse_."

xxx

Games weren't about fun, as strange as that might sound.

He had played his – and, which was far more important – Mokuba's destiny over a chess game. He had played a long, tiring game against his stepfather, and it had been clear that it would end with one of them dead. He, and his company with him, was famous for being the champion in the game which his holograms had made what it was today. His soul had been shattered – he had _failed Mokuba_ over another game...

But there were exceptions.

xxx

"Oh just give it up," is all Honda has to say.

They're at the game shop, and Yugi has just helped him to go through his new strategy for the fifteenth time.

Anzu scowls at it, but doesn't say anything: she's thinking that there's got to be a certain therapeutic value in being able to say "give it up" about a duel monster match. After all, this was impossible way too many times.

"Thanks for the support," he snaps.

Honda rolls his eyes.

"Seriously, don't you think you're getting a little..." He hesitates, as he doesn't really want to piss off his friend further. "... obsessed over this?"

xxx

"You've been duelling him twenty-three times since the beginning of the school year, twenty-four by tomorrow, and you're not inviting him to your next tournament?" Mokuba asks, looking through the list a second time in the hope he has just missed the name.

"I've had enough time to make sure he is really not on the required level."

He doesn't like the way Mokuba looks at him at that; he knows he's been sounding defensive, and for once, it's time for retreat.

"That's not what I meant, actually," he little brother answers, but he's speaking to an empty room.

So, what? It's not like he won't come even without being invited.

Thinking of which...

xxx

"What do you mean, you changed your mind about having a rematch!"

"If you're not capable of understanding such a simple – "

xxx

Well, that at least was unexpected. And that should bother him a little more.

xxx

"What the hell?"

Panting. Dammit.

"You started it."

Voice as cold and calm as ever. How's that fair? If he didn't know better, he'd think Kaiba is a robot.

"I was just trying to shut you up! I didn't exp-"

Okay, so it worked both ways.

xxx

He doesn't have much – or any – experience on the matter, but he thinks that Jounouchi is a relatively good kisser. Then again, he's actually a relatively good duellist too, so nothing to be worried about.

And it's not like he's getting involved or anything.

xxx

"Saturday, five o'clock. I'll send you a car."

He can just stare at Kaiba. At Kaiba's back, to be exact, because the bastard doesn't bother turning round.

"What about _asking_ me first?"

Kaiba does briefly look at him at that, an eyebrow raised.

"You don't _have_ to come."

xxx

"You're having another duel Saturday..." Mokuba repeats slowly, carefully.

"Yes."

"In the living room."

"Yes."

"With first-version duel discs...?"

"Yes."

"...okay."

xxx

He'd rather have told only Yugi for now, but they're at the game shop together, and the news that he is having some sort of a date with Seto Kaiba is way too weird for him to be able to wait with telling someone. Maybe one of them can punch him and he'll wake up from that dream. Nightmare. Whatever.

Still, he's a bit worried...

"Does that mean that Mai is up for grabs?"

"Mai will _never_ be 'up for grabs', Honda."

It's great to have so supportive friends.

xxx

"I hate you," Jounouchi murmurs, sprawled out over the sofa with his shoes still on, and glaring at the ceiling, probably because he's too tired to make the effort of actually looking up at him just to inform him of this. With his hologram system, a duel can be pretty exhausting; which is a good thing, because he's not much into physical contact but Jounouchi looks kind of cute like that.

xxx

The fact remains, that Kaiba is a total jerk.

"But?" Yugi asks, waiting for the second part of the sentence.

Jounouchi gives him a weird look. There is no second part.

xxxxx

_Does this make any sense? I hope it does. It's the first time I post something for that pairing, even though I've loved it since forever, so any comments on how I did would be nice... Aside from the fact that reviews always are.  
I'll just shut up now._


End file.
